The Anatomy of a Kiss
by somebrokenhearts
Summary: They were always destined to love, but being together is a different story. SasuSaku


Summary: they were always destined to love, but being together is a different story

**Disclaimer: **_Dare I say that I don't own Naruto. _

**The Anatomy of a Kiss**

_She giggled as he placed a wet kiss on her cheek. _

"_Will you marry me?"_

_Bright, green eyes looked into black ones._

"_Yes."_

_And the two went down the jungle gym._

"_Mommy!"_

"_Yes Sakura, darling."_

"_I'm going to marry Sasuke!"_

_And the mother laughed because kids were naïve and so blind to love._

"_What mommy?"_

"_We need to go home now."_

"_Okay! Bye Sasuke!"_

_And the one with the black eyes and dark hair watched as the love of his life bounced away._

_The kiss was on the cheek, so casual, but he still felt it on his lips, and she had the lingering feeling on her face._

--

--

_Thirteen. _

_A mere five years was needed for him to push her out of his life. She still hoped though. Because she remembered the old Sasuke who was willing and loving. But now she was "annoying," what a despicable word. She never told, but every time he called her that, her love for him only burned stronger. _

"_Sasuke-kun!"_

_Praises for him shot out of her mouth without warning. He would only glance back at her, and she knew what he was thinking. YOU ARE WEAK. And the burning of those three words lasted for years._

_Thank you._

_And now it was her turn to watch the love of her life slip for her grasp. She lay on the cold bench silently until dawn came, then she told the others. She could have stopped him, punched him straight in the jaw. She could have yelled for help, or proven that she was not as weak as she seemed. But he let him go. _

_There was no kiss this time around. And her heart called out for him to come home. No answer._

--

--

_He had beaten Orochimaru. He had the strength to bring down his brother. All the puzzle pieces of his life were finally glued together. And for the first time in his life he looked back._

_Shock._

_He was like a tornado, destroying everything that dared get in his way. _

_Naruto and Sakura's faces both twisted in a grimace as they saw his deeds._

_Kakashi's hurt pride as one of his students appeared in the bingo book, just waiting to be hunted down._

_His mother's happiness, Sakura's happiness, all evaporated. Why did they still care for him? He wanted them to stop caring. He wanted them to loathe him, to hate him, despise him. Those feelings came too late._

_He touched his lips. Karin had kissed him._

_The kiss was possessive, hungry. Like an animal marking its pride. No, he had never belonged to her. He had belonged to someone else. And he watched in horror as pink hair turned to red._

--

--

_She had had her first kiss at fifteen. Her second came two weeks later. And she watched as her love morphed and twisted until the only thing she could give was miniscule to the amount she received. Her heart still belonged to him, that would never change. Even if she grew old, wrinkled, and had a husband, her love for him would still be there, burning and flaming until her last breath._

"_Neji…"_

_She stopped as he pressed his lips against hers._

"_Goodnight, Sakura."_

_And as she closed the door, she sank down onto her knees. She felt her heart opening up again, and warming up to Neji. HE had been gone seven years already, she still loved him, but love made sacrifices, and Sasuke's love hurt._

_She agreed to go on a second date with him, and then found herself with him every night. He brought her roses, and clothes, and countless other tokens of his affection towards her. And she gave too. She gave him the little parts of her that were still open to receive love. _

_When he proposed, she said yes._

_The kiss was the sweetest thing she had ever had. _

_--_

_--_

_Three years later, he decided he needed to come back. He was twenty-three, and life was killing him. He knew Sakura was married. He knew the moment it happened, because he was there, sitting on the branch of a tree as the wedding procession went on._

_Be happy._

_A selfish part of him knew that she still loved him, but as he saw Sakura look into Neji's eyes, a twinge of pain appeared in his gut. She looked up at Neji with a look that was once only reserved for himself. He was too late._

_So now, three years after the wedding, he sent her a letter. _

--

--

_She never got hand-addressed letters. She opened it with hesitance and read:_

Sakura,

Be happy. Thank you. I love you.

-Sakuke

_There was no return address. No stamp. She ran to the Uchiha complex, and banged on the door of his old house. The door opened._

--

--

_He glanced at the pink-haired woman in front of him. And his eyes softened._

--

--

_She held up the open-ended letter._

"_Explain it."_

--

--

_And he did. With a kiss. A kiss of regret, mourning, loss. A kiss that said goodbye. Goodbye Sakura._

--

--

_Goodbye, Sasuke._

--

--

_And his love let her go. It let her go to someone who would make her happy. Someone who wouldn't hurt her like he did._

--

--

_A day after her encounter with Sasuke, she got another letter._

Dear Sakura,

We were always destined to love, but being together is another story.

-Sasuke


End file.
